ENDICOTT – The hottest hand in 50-and-over golf will tee it up at a venue where he's logged consecutive top-10 finishes and played his most recent 39 holes bogey-free.

Dick's Sporting Goods Open favorite, anyone?

Bernhard Langer is to begin Round 1 in the final three-ball off En-Joie's first tee at 2 p.m. Friday. The Champions Tour's leading money winner at $2,375,020 — or, $158,335 per start — is seeking his fifth victory of a season that has brought him two major championships. He's fallen short of a top-10 finish once in over a year.

However, Langer called it quits 10 holes into his Thursday afternoon Pro-Am round because of back spasms, said PGA Tour official Mike Sullivan. Langer played holes 10 through 18, and was seen stretching his back on the first tee box. He completed the first hole before calling it a day.

Tournament director John Karedes said Langer remains in the Dick's Open field.

When healthy, never mind simply En-Joie where he's signed for rounds of 66 last two times out and for 67 or better four of his last six, is there any golf course out there where Langer does not feel comfortable these days?

"When you play well you should be feeling good on any golf course because if you're a world-class player you ought to be able to hit all the shots, you ought to be able to hit fades or draws or whatever it takes," he said. "Certainly there are some courses where some players always do well and some where some players don't do well. But I believe if I'm on top of my game, I can play good anywhere."

Langer shared 10th here last year and seventh in 2012, denied serious title contention each time by a 1-over 73 — a score he's bettered in 48 of 50 Champions Tour rounds this season.

The first of 27 threesomes is scheduled for a 9:14 a.m. getaway, with Langer, Colin Montgomerie and Mark O'Meara the marquee group bringing up the rear with a 2 p.m. start. They'll wind down play before a huge gathering staking out space for the Zac Brown Band concert to begin around 8:30.

Eighty-one professionals will play the eighth edition of the Dick's Open for $1.85 million ($277,500 to the winner) on a golf course that made it through a Tuesday-Wednesday drenching in fine form.

"This golf course is in A-plus-plus-plus condition," said Paul Goydos, who debuted on the Champions Tour with a T9 two weeks back in Minnesota. "If this is what public golf is like in upstate New York, they're pretty lucky because this is in phenomenal shape."

Montgomerie has matched Langer major-for-major this season, been a top-10 finisher in 10 of 12 starts and stands second back of Langer in both earnings and Charles Schwab Cup points. He played marvelous golf to arrive at a 5-under 72-hole total late last month in the Senior British— problem was, Langer was 13 clear of runner-up Montie.

"I think we talked about Tiger's dominance in 2000 when Tiger was winning the U.S. Open by 15 shots and then he went to the British Open a month later and won by eight shots. I would have to put (Langer's) performance at Porthcawl to win by 13 shots in that category. … To beat the field by over three shots a round was extraordinary, yeah, one of the great performances."

Bart Bryant will set out in defense of his title in the penultimate trio of Round 1 accompanied by 2012 champion Willie Wood and Fred Funk — the only player to reach $1 million in career earnings at En-Joie. He has pocketed $1,010,631 in Dick's Opens and B.C. Opens combined, and next-best on that list is Brad Faxon at $828,944. The best any defending DSGO champion has fared was Eduardo Romero, who followed his 2008 title with a share of 15th in '09.

Players in the 50-54 age range have scooped up 76 percent of all-time Champions Tour wins, a trend 60-year-old Jay Haas hopes to buck this weekend. He has ridden top-five finishes in 10 of 13 starts to the No. 3 position on the money list, and has broken par in 35 of 39 rounds.

One competitor assured to attract a substantial roving gallery is Joey Sindelar, two-time B.C. Open champion from Horseheads whose most recent of three top-four Dick's Open finishes came in 2012.

"Never gets old for me because I get to visit with the people who have cheered for me year after year after year," he said of the return to Endicott. "But on top of that the energy and enthusiasm that Dick's Sporting Goods has brought the event is stunning."

The challenge remains the same at En-Joie: Put the ball in play off the tee and make a pile of putts.

"It's maybe the narrowest fairways we play all year next to the U.S. Open," Langer said. "Very tight fairways for the most part, lots of trees, fairway bunkers and other things so you have to drive it well, otherwise you're not going to be in the running."

Bryant: "It's probably one of the tightest courses we play. It's not really long but you've got to get it in play. Last year there was a little rough, that was my first year to go back in a while. You've got to drive the ball well. Not being one of the longer hitters on the tour but maybe, hopefully one of the straighter hitters it suits my game pretty well."

John Cook: "It give everybody a chance. It's not a big ball-beater golf course, you just have to strike your golf ball around kind of old-school."